1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement and method for producing therapeutic insoles.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in prior art to produce orthopedic insoles with the aid of a computer. Thus, EP 0 284 922 A2 suggests that the patient stands on a foot imprint unit consisting of pressure-sensitive measuring elements transmitting pressure to a sensor unit which converts them into digital signals to be processed by a computer. The computer can also have stored additional information, and a shoe insole calculated from both sources can compensate for any existing defect. The data are converted into manufacturing data for a profiling tool.
EP 0 317 591 11 discloses a measuring arrangement for dynamic measuring where the patient walks across the measuring arrangement. In that case, too, the pressure force distribution pattern is digitized and compared by computer with a set value. Control signals for an arrangement for producing insoles are derived from the result.
DE 94 00 979 U shows an assembly for the production of therapeutic insoles which X-rays the foot under stress and at rest and then scans the foot with hydraulic or pneumatic sensor elements. The resulting data are also converted into manufacturing data for insoles.
Finally, DE 44 04 695 C2 discloses a method for acquiring geometric data of a foot by means of measuring soles, a blue-print or a manually produced orthopedic insole. The data are given to a data processor in which a number of measurements of prefabricated blanks are stored. From the data sets, the operator can determine the desired form of the insole and decide which blank is to be used. The data are then converted further into manufacturing signals for a milling machine.
All the above named arrangements and methods proceed from measuring the nature of the foot to produce the appropriate insoles which are made to react passively to certain foot disorders such as flatfoot, splayfoot, clubfoot, pes valgus, pes adductus congenitus, etc.
However, feet are also the subject of other forms of therapy such as acupressure, reflexology, neurological stimulation, etc. Insoles have also been suggested already for those purposes. They were formed such that certain receptors under the feet were stimulated to treat problems of body balance. In contrast to the above mentioned orthopedic insoles, such hand-made or cast insoles have an active, stimulating effect. A special form is the stimulation of the so-called proprioceptors, i.e. the free nerve endings of the muscles whose impulses together with those of the labyrinth (the organ governing balance) provide the brain with the necessary information about body posture.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved arrangement and method for producing therapeutic insoles overcoming at least one of the detriments noted above.